Tonganoxie man to appear Wednesday in court on cocaine charges

A 35-year-old Tonganoxie man and a 28-year-old Overland Park woman face charges Wednesday in Leavenworth County District Court following a Tonganoxie police drug bust that involved crack cocaine.

Tonganoxie police arrested George M. Kitchen IV and Tamara M. Jackson on Sept. 30 in the 400 block of Stone Creek near the Stone Creek retail center north of U.S. Highway 24-40. Jackson’s two children, a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old, also were in the vehicle, according to police.

Tonganoxie police Chief Jeff Brandau said police received a tip about a potential drug deal earlier that day.

Brandau said police located the vehicle and seized 33 grams of cocaine and $2,000 in cash. Brandau said the cocaine had a street value of about $4,000.

Kitchen attempted to eat some of the suspected cocaine and also resisted arrest and was tasered, Brandau said.

Kitchen faces several charges in district court, including obstruction of official duty. That charge, a felony, was filed because Kitchen did not comply with police orders to spit out the bag of narcotics and instead attempted to chew up the drugs, according to court documents.

Kitchen also faces one felony count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, one felony count of using a cell phone for a drug transaction, one felony count of no drug tax stamp, one misdemeanor count of child endangerment and one misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of marijuana.

Jackson faces one felony count of conspiracy to commit cultivation, distribution or possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, one felony count of using a cell phone for drug transactions, one felony count of no drug tax stamp, one misdemeanor count of child endangerment and one misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (marijuana).

Tonganoxie police recently arrested two people for prescription drug forgery, but it’s more common than crack cocaine possession, Brandau said.

“We don’t get a lot of crack cocaine here,” he said. “I thought it was unusual. We get a lot of prescription drug violations.

“It (crack cocaine) was coming here. It’s where he was dealing it. That’s why it was concerning. A lot of things I expect, but that’s not one of them.”

Kitchen and Jackson are to appear for their first appearance at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Leavenworth County District Court.